Kalaari Capital MD Vani Kola steps down from Snapdeal Board

SoftBank, the largest stakeholder in Snapdeal, has been orchestrating the sale of the company to Flipkart. Kalaari Capital gave its assent to the proposed sale last monthBiswarup Gooptu | ET Bureau | May 15, 2017, 00:19 IST

Vani Kola, managing director of venture capital firm Kalaari Capital, and a long-standing Board member of Snapdeal, has resigned as director of the troubled e-commerce company, as it prepares to be sold to rival e-commerce firm Flipkart.

According to the letter of resignation, addressed to the company’s Board, dated May 2nd, and accessed by Tofler, a corporate research and monitoring platform, Kola has requested the Board to discharge her of her duties with immediate effect.

“I confirm I have resigned. I have been the longest serving on the board. The company has entered a new phase and no longer needs my services,” Kola told ET over a text message, late on Sunday.

SoftBank, the largest stakeholder in Snapdeal, has been orchestrating the sale of the company to Flipkart. The Japanese investor managed to get the consent of Nexus Venture Partners, which had been holding off from agreeing to the sale, last week, potentially removing one of the final hurdles to the transaction.

Kola was the sole representative for Kalaari Capital on the Snapdeal board. Bengaluru-based Kalaari Capital, which had invested about $27.5 million in the Gurgaon-based online marketplace, holding about a 8% stake, was one of the early investors in the company, and held powerful voting rights under its shareholders agreement. Kola had been part of the Snapdeal Board since September 2009.

Apart from Kalaari Capital, which held one Board seat, the seven-member Snapdeal Board counts SoftBank, which holds two seats, founders - Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal - who have a seat each, Nexus Venture Partners, which has one seat, and Akhil Gupta, vice-chairman of Bharti Enterprises as an independent director.

Nexus, which has till date invested $43-$45 million in Snapdeal for about an 10% stake, is expected to receive about $60 million in lieu of its holding. It is yet unclear whether this amount will be entirely in cash or will have a stock component as well, that could give it exposure to the merged entity once created.

As per the terms of the agreement between the stakeholders, Snapdeal founders Bahl and Bansal, are also expected to receive an estimated $30 million as a cash payout from SoftBank. The complete sale of the company to Flipkart is expected to take two-three months.